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The Pearson Peacekeeping Centre just announced that it was closing its doors for good. And they are not alone. While Canada has never fielded an abundance of think tanks, our most venerable foreign policy organizations are falling like dominoes. A few years ago the Montreal-based Rights and Democracy folded amid internal wrangling, quickly followed by FOCAL, Canada’s largest Americas-focused foundation. Today Ottawa´s esteemed North-South Institute is on the rocks. Non-government institutions on the left and, to a lesser extent, right and centre, are being defunded and fading away.

The decline in Canada's think tanks could not come at a worse time given global transformations underway. Until recently, national and multilateral entities and processes were what got things done. But as power and influence shifts away from governments and toward private and non-profit sectors, large firms such as Google, private philanthropic groups like the Gates Foundation, and established think tanks including the Brookings Institution wield more clout than ever. The silence from Canada’s non-governmental sector carries serious implications for our international standing.

Today, Canada's contributions to international debates on security, development and the environment are one-sided. In the past month alone, Canada refused to join more than 110 countries signing an arms trade treaty and our prime minister publicly berated an American president for not approving the Keystone pipeline. Last year, Canada officially opted out of Kyoto — the only country of 191 signatories to do so. Yet few domestic think tanks offered serious rebuttal. While university-based institutes are filling some gaps, their voices are seldom heard outside Ottawa. Consequently, our foreign policy agenda is hollowing-out, appearing to hinge on extractives, all-out support for Israel, and narrow values-driven priorities.

Some liberal critics blame the demise of Canadian international affairs think tanks on the government's intolerance of dissent. They argue that left-leaning organizations are being squeezed out of existence. The recent proliferation of right-wing advocacy groups across Canada feeds their fears. And while there is some truth to this, the real origins of Canada’s think tank malaise extend well before the present government. They can be summed up as a lack of fiscal and policy innovation.

Fiscally, the quiet extinction of Canada’s think tanks is due to a culture of dependence. For decades Canada’s non-governmental sector was weaned on public funds. Despite repeated warning signs, not least the 2008 financial crisis, many were unable to diversify their sources of income or build lasting public-private partnerships. In the absence of a robust philanthropic sector for public policy — as in the United States — thinks tanks were unable to adapt.

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On the policy front, many think tank survivors appear tired and worn-out. Their programs are often anchored in 20th-century debates, find little purchase in government circles and have yet to take full advantage of 21st-century social and technological innovation. While no one doubts the passion and commitment they bring to their work, their outputs feel oddly out of step with today´s global conversations.

This lack of innovation has resulted in a loss of talent. Generations of Canada’s best and brightest have opted for well-resourced think tanks abroad, moving in droves to Geneva, London, New York and Washington to tap fresh ideas and resources, leaving the insulated world of Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto or Vancouver behind. With the exception of a handful of public policy research institutes, there is simply too little action to keep Canadian talent in the country.

Think tanks amplify Canada's voice in the world. With so few Canadian groups contributing to decision-making in the United Nations or involved in public and private discussions underway in the Americas, Africa and Asia, we´re out of the loop. A recent global assessment of the top 150 think tanks from around the world includes just two Canadian entities, the Fraser Institute (25) and the Centre for International Governance Innovation (41). Meanwhile, the Canadian government is free to do as it pleases on everything from arms control and human rights to climate change and energy politics.

While a golden age for Canadian think tanks never existed, there are reasons to believe that the future can be different. There’s never been a more exciting time for engaging in global debate; creative, nimble, digitally-savvy organizations can and do generate real impact. At a minimum, the government must create the enabling conditions for innovative non-governmental groups to thrive. This means reaching out to think tanks and creating channels for meaningful exchange. And Canadian think tanks themselves must evolve and diversify in order to shape and direct the defining issues of our time.

Robert Muggah is Research Director of the SecDev Foundation, a Canadian think tank, and Research Director of the Igarapé Institute in Brazil. Taylor Owen is Research Director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University and the Founding Editor-in-Chief of OpenCanada.org.

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